Parking issues to take up space at Leominster council meeting

LEOMINSTER -- City councilors will take up parking issues and consider a candidate to replace Chief Assessor Walter Poirier, who is retiring in February, when they meet in City Hall today at 6:30 p.m.

The City Council's Ways and Means Committee will interview Bill Mitchell.

"I think many of the councilors thought we were looking for an assessor; I think we were surprised his name came down as chief assessor," said Councilor-at-large Claire Freda, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee. "I'm sure there will be a lot of questions."

The School Committee is scheduled to meet at the Center for Technical Education innovation's Appleseeds Restaurant at 7 p.m.

Mayor Dean Mazzarella is scheduled to meet with the council before the regularly scheduled meeting.

"He's going to update us as to some of the projects he's involved with," said Council President Rick Marchand. "I suggested he come down and just share with us, and we appreciate him coming down."

Freda has submitted a petition to replace no-parking signs in front of St. Anna Church rectory on Lancaster Street to allow parking for 15 minutes.

Marchand and resident Eva Leblanc submitted a petition to increase parking in front of the post office on Main Street from 15 minutes to 30 minutes.

The no-parking signs in front of the St. Anna rectory were installed years ago because motorists were parking long-term, Freda said.

A church secretary asked for the modification of rules after parents of students got parking tickets while making tuition payments, she said.

Advertisement

"Now the office is in front of the rectory and there are people who run in to make a deposit and they want to be able to stop in front of the rectory, do what they want to do and run out," Freda said.

Freda is supporting the request and considering whether to increase the parking to 30 minutes over the weekend.

Motorists using the post office are running into a similar time crunch.

Fifteen minutes isn't long enough if there are long lines at the post office, Marchand said.

"I'm the person that actually filed the legislation for the 15-minute parking quite a few years ago so I thought it would be a nice gesture to increase it," he said.

Marchand initiated the petition and enlisted Leblanc as a co-signer.

Under the council's reorganization this month, the Small-Business and Economic-Development committee was disbanded as a standing committee but may return as a president's committee.

Ward 1 Councilor Gail Feckley's campaign platform included a jobs plank and she urged Marchand to reconsider, so he gave her the go-ahead to propose a committee.

Feckley met with Small Business Development Coordinator Sandie Cataldo and Lisa A. Marrone, the economic development coordinator for the Planning and Development Office Friday.

Feckley said Cataldo and Marrone are doing a good job for the city, but a president's committee should be an intermediary to brief the council on issues such as tax-increment-financing, or TIF, proposals.

"The council would be apprised what is necessary for us to approve the TIFs, so that we wouldn't be getting requests without previous knowledge," she said.

The council will open with the meeting with Mazzarella at 6:30 p.m., followed by the appointment with Mitchell.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sentinel and Enterprise. So keep it civil.